Caleb A few hours prior … "Good morning, gentleman," I greeted them formally, leaning closer to the microphone in front of me. "In just a moment, my Beta will forward you all a copy of the agenda," I informed the council of Alphas, keeping my introduction brief as each of the northern Alphas’ faces appeared on the monitors, simultaneously. Aaron, Neal, and my father, each took a seat around the conference table. Then in turn, poured themselves glasses of iced water from a clear jug that Lauren had just placed down. Aaron poured one for me, then placed it down to my right. Lauren, tiptoed from the room, not wanting her heels to clack on the wooden floor and cause further disruption. Dad pulled a small gunmetal-grey hip flask from the inside of his jacket pocket, unscrewed the cap, took a swig, then secured the cap again, placing it back in

CalebThe young Alpha, Beau, raised his hand. "I'll go. I'd rather that than meet them here on my doorstep." Concern coated his voice. "And I'm no coward," he commented, sparking outrage amongst the Alphas who all voted against."Typical Alpha meeting," Aaron muttered in my ear. "Do you want me to cut them all off?" His finger hovered over the WIFI icon, threatening to tap the touchscreen."Tempting, but you better not," I mumbled in response.The arguing went on for a further hour and a half. Dad went to pour himself a scotch and watched them with amusement, propping his feet up on the chair next to him.Neal shook his head with a look of disdain. "Permission to leave the room, Alpha?""Grant

Ruby My heart leaped inside my chest as Mom took her phone and stuffed it back inside her purse, threading her arm through the strap so it sat securely on her shoulder. "Mom, where are you going?" I asked, feeling my insides jolt with panic. My eyes darted between her and the stranger, not having been formally introduced. "You're leaving me ... with him?" I whispered, knowing that I was probably coming off as rude but I was too anxious to care. She bent down to kiss my forehead and I wrapped my hand around the crease of her elbow. "Who is he?" I whispered. Mom jerked her head back, giving me a quizzical look. "Honey, that's your uncle Dylan," she replied as if I had forgotten. "He's been helpin

CalebThe second I took a step outside, the intense heat hit me full force, filling my lungs with thick warm air. From high above, the hot summer sun belted down on me like a furnace, stinging my eyes and forcing me to squint. Heat bounced back up from the baked asphalt, creating wavy patterns in the air. Jeez, it was stifling. By the time I crossed the short distance to the service station, that doubled as a diner, I was already sweating profusely.Wasps and flies circled the dumpsters at the back of the building. They were attracted by the putrid stench of food waste that had been dragged out by rats and strewn all over the ground.A truck carrying scrap metal pulled up in one of the many free parking spaces at the side of the building. The doors opened and four rough-looking guys got out. One was a burly-looking bald guy with

Caleb "You can drive. I'll ride shotgun," Aaron announced, tossing me the keys. Neal's Honda Ridgeline sat two in the front and three in the back. After hauling our bags onto the back seat, I climbed into the driver's side, pulling the door shut. Aaron climbed into the passenger side and reached for his sunglasses from the glovebox. Zachary and Mal pulled up alongside us, getting ready to follow behind us. Aaron donned his Ray-bans, then fiddled with the stereo, searching for a station. We had no chance of getting a signal in the dead zone, so we played the CD we found in the disk drive. It was a compilation of old rock songs. I put on a pair of polarized aviator sunglasses, grateful to take the strain off my eyes. An Ambulance and two cop cars had arrived to tend to the guys I r